Improvement in breech-loading fire-arms



3 Sheets-Sheet 1. W. RICHARDS.

Breech-Loading Fire-Arm.

No.-91.568. Patented June 22, 1869.

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W2 Z7268 565 170087: Z'O? N. PETERS. Pinata-Lithographer. Walhhlgtm.0.4;

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

w. RICHARDS.

Breech -Loading Fire-Arm.

Patented June 22, 1869.

3 Sheets -Sheet 3.

-w. momma Breech-Loading Fire-Arm.

No. 91.668. atented June 22, 1869.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WESTLEY RICHARDS, OF BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN BREECH-LOADING- FIRE-ARMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 91,668, dated June 22,1869; patented in England June 12, 1868.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, WEs'rLEY RICHARDS,

'of Birmingham, in the county of Warwick,

England, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, have invented ordiscovered new and useful Improvements in Breech Loading Fire- Arms andProjectiles; and I, the said WESTLEY RICHARDS, do hereby declare thenature of the said invention, and in what manner the same is to beperformed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by thefollowing statement thereof; that is to say In some fire-arms the breechis closed by a block, turning on a horizontal axis at its rear end, itsother end descending to expose the breech-end of the bore, so that acartridge may be introduced from the top and rising to close the breechfor firing. I, according to my invention, construct such fire-arms inthe following manner:

The breech-block is connected with the shoe or body (which, at its foreend, is fixed to the barrel and which forms the frame for the action) bya knuckle-joint, and at its other end it rests on the end of one arm ofa lever turning on a horizontal axis. The other arm of this lever formsa handle, and when the breech is closed it extends along underneath thetrigger-guard, and then the arm on which the breech-block rests is in anearly vertical position. To open the breech the handle is forcedforward, and the arm supporting the block being thus brought nearly to ahorizontal po sition, the breech-block falls, or rather the arm carriesit down by acting on a projection upon it, and makes way for theintroduction of the cartridge. Along the under side of the block, andextending from its axis nearly to its face, which forms the abutment forthe cartridge, is a groove, in which a tumbler works. When the breech isopened, the arm which supports the breech-block.carries downthe tumbler,together with the block, against the resistance of a mainspring, fixedto the body and pressing on the tail of the tumbler, and as it arrivesat the end of its course, a scar, pivoting on the body or frame, fallsinto a bent in the tumbler and retains it, and it remains so held when,by means of the hand-lever, the breech-block is again raised, closingthe breech.

When the trigger is pressed to discharge the piece, its inner end actson the tail of the scar, and so moves it as to release the tumbler. Whenthe tumbler is returned by the action of the mainspring, an incline uponit acts on a striker, and forces it forward. As the breech is opened thestriker is again withdrawn, the arm which supports the block in thefirst part of its movement pushing upward a finger, which acts upon thefront of the striker and forces it back.

The extractor is a finger turning on the same axis with the hand-lever,and in opening the breech as soon as the breech-block has been loweredclear of the bore, a projection on the hand-lever comes against theextractor-finger and pushes it back, and as the head or flange of thecartridge-case rests upon this finger, the case is, in this way, startedout of the barrel. By these means the arm is adapted to receivecentral-fire cartridges carrying their own priming, and it is madeself-cocking.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the action ofa gun thusconstructed; a a is the body or frame. It is shown in detail at Fig. 2.At its fore end it has a socket, into which the barrel is fixed. Theseparts are fitted to a stock suitably recessed to receive them. In somecases I make the side checks of the body or frame with flangesoverlapping the stock, as is shown at Fig. 3, which is a transversesection taken at the line 1 1, Fig. 2. I) is the block which closes thebreech of the barrel. It is shown separately in detail at Fig. 4. Theblock b is connected with the body or frame a by a pin passing throughit and fixed in the side checks of the body. On this pin the blockturns, but the pin does not have to resist the pressure which comes onthe block when the piece is fired, for, as will be seen, the binder partof the block and the body are fitted together and form a knuckle-joint.c is the handlever which supports the block b when the breech is closed,and draws it down in opening by coming against the part N. d is thetumbler. It turns on the same pin as the block b, and. is similarlyfitted to the body. It is shown separately at Fig. 5. e is themainspring fixed to the body, and pressing on the tumbler so as to tendconstantly to force it upward.

and sothe bent d upon it is carried past thenose of the sear e, which,by the sear-spring f, is caused immediately to drop in in front of it,so that, when the lever is made to return so as to close the breech, thetumbler remains depressed. The scar and sear-sprin g are shownseparately at Figs. 7 and 8.

When the tail of the sear is acted upon by the trigger, the tumbler isliberated and the piece is fired, the incline d on the tumbler comingagainst the inclined end of the striker g and forcing it forward so asto project its pin-like end beyond the face of the block b, and cause itto strike the percussion-priming which is placed in the center of thebase of the cartridge. The striker is drawn separately at Fig. 9. It is,as will be seen, fitted into a recess in the block b, and there held bya pin passed through the block, the striker being notched at g to admitof the necessary play.

71. is a finger-pin jointed to the block b, and which, in opening thebreech, is acted on by the lever 0, so that its free'end ispushed upwardagainst the incline g on the striker, and the striker is in this waydrawn back. Fig. 10 shows the finger h. t is the extractor, also seen atFig. 11. It is a finger turning on the same pin with the lever b, whichis recessed at one side to receive it. The extractor has upon it a lump,t and on opening the breech the face 11 on the lever comes against thislump, and so moves the extractor back, and in closing the breech anotherface, b moves it back. The free end of the extractor, when the breech isclosed, enters a notch, a, formed for it in the body a, and it thenstands partly in front of the flange of the cartridge, so that when itis moved back it carries the cartridge case with it. k is anindicating-pin to show when the tumbler is depressed ready for firing.It is inserted into a hole formed in the tang of the body, and it restsupon the mainspring with which a small spring, Z, keeps it constantly incontact. These parts are seen separately at Figs. 12 and 13. The leverc, which is shown separately at Fig. 14, is fitted, as will be seen,with a spring-catch to lock it to the triggerguard. Fig. 15 is alongitudinal section of another similar gun, differing from that alreadydescribed mainly in that the stock is not made in one piece from end toend, but in two parts tied firmly together, both on the upper and under.side. In this gun the frame or body, which is shown separately at Fig.16, is made so as to incase the action without the assistance of thestock, the two parts of which are connected with it by two screws orpins; that at the butt end, after passing the wood ofthe stock, entersthe tang of the body, and the pin which secures the front portion of thestock screws into a socket, formed on a lug secured on the barrel or ona ring encircling the barrel, and shut in between a shoulder upon it andthe end of the body. On the of the ordinary mainspring form, and thatthe spring for the indicator-pin is dispensed with, a projection on the.tumbler serving to draw it down. The body or frame may be forged in onepiece with the barrel.

- I would remark that I prefer in all cases to use a mainspring of theordinary form, as is shown in Fig. 15, although I have shown thestraight spring in Fig. 1 as a possible variation.

Myinvention further relates to the construction-of cartridges andprojectiles suitable for use wit-h these arms.

In constructing bullets or projectiles for breech-loading fire-arms, Imake the coned or fore part of the bullet or projectile somewhat smallerthan the cylindrical part or body of the bullet or projectile, so thatthere is a shoulder or ledge between them. This shoulder or ledge I findto be of great service in removing fouling from the barrel, andpreventingit from being jammed between the barrel and the projectile,whereby with other projectiles the resistance in the barrel is greatlyincreased. Fig. 18 shows a bullet or projectile thus formed. y

In constructing cartridges according to my invention, I employ alining-cup in the interior of the capsule, and the bottom of the cup israised so that the cup may fit over the chamber, which contains thefulminating-priming, and serve both to strengthen the outer angle of thebase of the capsule, and also the inner angle around thepriming-chamber. I form the priming-chamber in one piece with thecapsule by raising an internal projection in the center of its end whichis closed with the exception of a perforation for the passage of thefire from the priming. Fig. 19 is a longitudinal section of a cartridgethus constructed.

The several parts of which it is constructed are shown separately atFig. 20. a is the capsule. Its base is raised so as to form apriming-chamber, a; b, the cup, so formed as to cover and protect boththe outerangle around the base of the capsule and also the inner anglearound the priming-chamber. c is the anvil, which, as shown in thedrawing, is made with a square stem proj ectin gthrou gh thefire-passage formed in the priming-chamber and covering-cup. d is thepercussion-cap, which in firing receives the blow of the striker of thegun, and when exploded the fire from it passes around the stem of theanvil to the charge. The firing of the charge-causes the cup b to changeits form, so that after firing it will be of the shape closed end asbefore.

diameter, and so formed around the edge, as

to fit into the angle. The disk has a hole in the center, that it maypass over the primingchamber, and it is dished to contract its diametersufficiently to allow it to enter the capsule. It is dropped down intoits place, and then flattened to expand it into the angle.

-A cup, b, such as that above described, may

very advantageously be employed when the priming-chamber is madeseparate from the capsule, as is usual.

In some cases I make the capsule in the form above described, and inplace of using the recess in its base directly as a primingchamber, Iinsert within it an ordinary hatcap, or ordinary priming-chamber, whichthen also serves as a rivet to secure to the capsule a head made with aflange, and containing a pasteboard wad, or the head may be a flangedmetal disk. The capsule in this case enters some distance up into thechamber of the gun.

Fig. 22 is a longitudinal section of a cartridge thus constructed, andFig. 23 shows the several parts separately. a is the capsule, with araised projection, a, in the center of its 1) is the shell of thecartridgehead, withthe flange b at the back of it. c is a pasteboard wadwith which it is filled.

d is the priming-chamber. It is inserted through the head into thehollow projection at a. A blow is then struck with a suitable tool onthe top of the projection, so as to bulge both it and the primingchamberd, and so this chamber is made to serve as a rivet to attach the head tothe capsule. e is the anvil, and f the percussion'cap. The head of thecartridge may be a solid metal disk.

I claim as respects this part of my invention in fire-arms, in which thebreech is closed by a block turning'on a horizontal axis at its breechend- 1. The combination of the vibrating tumbler and reciprocatingstriker, the combination being and operating substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of the vibrating breechblock, vibrating tumbler, andreciprocating striker, the combination being and operatingsubstantially-as set forth. v

3. The mounting the tumbler within the body orframe on the same axiswith the breechblock, and the arranging the hand-lever which actuatesthe breech-block so as also in openin g the breech to draw down thetumbler and cause the striker to recede.

4. The connection of the stock with the barrel of the fire-arm by meansof the frame, trigger-guard, screws, and lug, as described.

WESTLEY RICHARDS. v

Witnesses:

G. F. WARREN, I THOS. BROWN, Both of No. 19 Gracechurch Street, London.

